The War of the English Succession (1586 - 1609) was a military and naval engagement fought between three kings over the succession of the English throne. The war occurred in the aftermath of the death of Anne I in the Massacre at Westminster by Calvinist extremists. Although her son Henry was in line for the throne, his Calvinist aunt Isabella Tudor, as well as the King of France and ScotlandFrancis III, were legitimate claimants, and fought for England's monarchy.

The war, as historians note, was not only fought for a monarch, but also for the fate of England's religious status--to remain a Catholic nation under Henry, to adopt Calvinism under Isabella, or to adopt Gallicanism under Francis. In the end, Henry's armies proved supreme over Isabella's after her death, and Francis withdrew his claim in order to focus on keeping his own country, France, united in a time of religious dissent. With Henry's victory, he recognized Calvinism as a religion, and brought about greater rights for Reformists.